Type 3: Autoimmune Thyroiditis (Graves-Basedow Disease)
3A: Hyperthyroid
3B: Euthyroid
3C: Hypothyroid
Signs and symptoms of thyroid problems
Thyroiditis (signs and symptoms of thyroid problems).
This is an inflammation of the thyroid gland. There are several types of thyroiditis, and the treatment, for each, is different.
Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.
Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is also called autoimmune, or chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis. It is the most common type of thyroiditis.The name comes from the Japanese physician, Hakaru Hashimoto, who first described it, in 1912.
The thyroid gland is always enlarged, although only one side may be enlarged enough to feel. The cells, of the thyroid, become inefficient in converting iodine, into thyroid hormone. It "compensates" by enlarging.
The radioactive iodine uptake may be paradoxically high, while the patient is hypothyroid. This is because the gland retains the ability to take-up, or "trap", iodine. It happens after it has lost its ability to produce thyroid hormone.
As the disease progresses, the TSH increases. This results because the pituitary is trying to induce the thyroid, to make more hormone. The T4 falls, since the thyroid doesn't make it. Thus, the patient becomes hypothyroid.
The sequence of events occurs over a relatively short span of a few weeks, or may take several years. Signs and symptoms of thyroid problems
Ord's Thyroiditis.
It is a disease similar to Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. However, it is associated with a reduced thyroid size. This form of autoimmune thyroiditis is more common in European countries. It is named for the physician, W. M. Ord, who described it in 1877, and again in 1888. It is more common among women than men.
Often, Ord's thyroiditis results in hypothyroidism. However, in its acute phase, it causes a transient hyperthyroid state. Physiologically, antibodies to thyroid peroxidase and/or thyroglobulin cause gradual destruction of follicles, in the thyroid gland.
The disease is detected clinically, by looking for these antibodies in the blood. It is characterised by invasion, of the thyroid tissue, by leukocytes. These are chiefly T-lymphocytes. Signs and symptoms of thyroid problems
Graves-Basedow Disease.
This disease is the only form, of thyroiditis, associated with permanent hyperthyroidism. The pathophysiology is mediated through antibodies. These stimulate the receptor for thyrotropin.
Acute and subacute thyroiditis.
For De Quervain's Thyroiditis, Silent Thyroiditis, and Acute Thyroiditis, consult other resources.